Emily Dickinson Lexicon
Definition for GUM-ELASTIC, or ELASTIC-GUM
GUM-ELASTIC, or ELASTIC-GUM, n. [caoutchouc,]
A singular substance, obtained from a tree in America by incision. It is a white juice, which, when dry, becomes very tough and elastic, and is used for bottles, surgical instruments, for overshoes, &c. This substance will probably be used for various other purposes, being perfectly impermeable to water. Nicholson. Encyc.
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